Saturday, January 31, 2009

Bug surprises us with his daily antics and his progress. He now flutters from my finger to my shoulder. I've never been one to wander around with a bird on my shoulder so I have no idea where he got the idea from. He's also learned to open the flaps from the inside of his box and jump out.

We've been leaving a few worms to wriggle at his feet whilst he feeds just to get him used to the idea that his food can be found on the ground. Up until now he has totally ignored them but today he's been pecking at the worms, not quite managing to pick one up yet but it will happen soon. He is so dear, I can't help snapping away with the camera.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

It hasn't taken long for Bug to become part of the family and he is already developing into a very endearing little character.

The strangest thing about him is that he is not too partial to nests. At the first opportunity he bails out which is probably what got him in trouble in the first place. He likes to sit on my desk while I work. When he gets tired I create a secure nest for him but it lasts five minutes and then he's off across the desk like a drunken sailor. A common idiosyncrasy of the thrush is to dash for cover, almost parallel to the ground with neck thrust foreward like an arrow. Little Bug instinctively does this though he loses balance along the way.

Eventually he finds a spot to his liking (usually on a pile of scrap metal) where he will settle for a while squawking for food whether he's hungry or not.

At 5.00 pm almost to the second he switches off for the night. Last night he learned to put his head under his wing. I was so proud of him! My daughter hates to think what I'm going to be like with grandchildren. As it is I already have a Picasa file full of photographs..

Ringing telephones, alarm clocks, doorbells and stove timers provoke shrill calls from within the cardboard box. He knows my voice and will call when he hears me but not a peep when hubby and daughter speak.

One can't help loving him . He's a brave little clown who is keeping me on the hop all day long but I feel so privileged spending this short while with him. He's growing fast and it won't be long before we'll have to make decisions about the next leg of his journey.

Monday, January 26, 2009

I've been in an ebullient mood for days and I put this down to our early morning walks, prompted by Julia Cameron, author of Vein of Gold. I've joined the Vein of Gold Group over at CCS and one of the daily practices is walking. It has been hard to pull myself out of bed so early in the morning but definitely worth the effort!

We set off in the dark at 4.30.am when it is cool. It's so peaceful at this time of day and also ideal for spotting wildlife en route . We take Ben our Bull Terrier with us because nobody would dare challenge us when he's around and besides he loves and needs a walk even more than we do.

We've seen a white tipped mongoose hunting for the past 4 days as well as a Bushbuck standing silently watching as we passed by. On one of our walks we noticed a thrush dive bombing a mongoose in the middle of the road. Ben caught a whiff of it and took off with me flailing wildly at the end of the lead. (I've since been treated for whiplash by the chiropractor). As we got to the spot, mongoose disappeared down a drain and my eye caught site of a moving mud clod...or so I thought until I saw a gaping orange mouth .

Ben and I realized what it was simultaneously but I was quick, scooping the baby thrush out of harms way and holding it close while we searched for a nest. Thrush was quite a distance from any trees and he was definitely too young to fly . We couldn't leave him there or even put him in a tree to wait for the mum (who was nowhere to be seen) because he kept bailing off the branch and in any case it was highly probable that the mongoose would sniff him out. After waiting a while Hubby decided that we should take him home because he wouldn't survive out in the open ....what with the mongoose, cars and dogs about....... So home we went!

We have named him Bug because he eats bugs like there's no tomorrow. From dawn til dusk I'm on hands and knees in the garden, searching for rock roaches, wood lice and earthworms. We've now introduced him to Pronutro which drives him into a frenzy of wing flapping, chirping euphoria.

Bug is doing very well and all we hope for is to be able to release him back into the wild when he is old enough to look after himself. This could be harder than it sounds because thrushes are territorial and the last time we reared a thrush and tried to release him the other thrushes attacked poor Jack until we rescued him again. It took many more weeks before the others would even allow him to sit in the tree outside our bedroom window.

I wish I had the equipment to record and share what I can hear right this moment. Bug is chrrrpping at the top of his lungs just to let me know he hasn't eaten in the last half hour.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Oleg Denisenko is a Ukranian artist who creates quirky/bizarre etchings. They have cross between a Don Quixote and Leonardo Da Vinci air about them. If you want to see more of Denisenko's amazing work go here and here. You need to see the enlarged prints to appreciate the detail. Go and have a good look. They are brilliant!

"Embroidering takes time, it's a slow process that gives room for silence. I seek silence. In the quietness I can bring back memories and find new ways to go. I often work with series, where small changes create a rhythm, tranquility or excitement in my works." - Ase Ljones

White Pine Dendroglyph, by Dorothy Gill Barnes (United States). Pine

"My intent is to construct a vessel or related object using materials respectfully harvested from nature. The unique properties I find in bark, branches, roots, seaweed and stone suggest a work process to me. I want this problem solving to be evident in the finished piece. Some of these structures are basket like." - Dorethy Gill Barnes

Surf Play, by Pat Campbell (United States). Reed, Paper and wood.

From Chaos to Reality, by Aleksandra Stoyanov (Israel and Ukraine)

"Israel has two sides, from one it is a land, a country we are living with its contradictions, war, problems, beauty...From the other it is the Holy Land, promised and given by God. The work reflects the Holy Land, shining in the golden light. When I keep threads in my hands I feel that they are ground, the grass, that there is a life in them. The feeling of thread in my hands is the first appeal for me to begin working on a new piece.." - Aleksandra Stoyanov

Sabi Tea Jar II, by Nancy Moore Bess (United States)

Discourse by Caroline Bartlett
"My recent work has focused on the act of collecting and archiving, and on the overwriting of histories. As a result, processes of erasing and reworking, folding and unfolding, have become central to both ideas and working methods, permeating responses to other stimuli - such as recent visits to Japan and Australia. A preoccupation with the tactile and its connections with memory continue to be an ongoing concern while the use of print as a means of marking cloth, and a continuing involvement in stitch and manipulation techniques provide me with a working vocabulary and the means by which I process and articulate ideas." - Caroline Bartlett

Sunday, January 4, 2009

It always amazes me just how creative and talented people are. Amy Brier created a series of Roliqueries. Sculpture that creates sculpture. A Roliquery is a hand carved limestone ball which when rolled in sand leaves the most wonderful patterns...a new work of art.

You won't believe the beautiful sculpture Cal Lane creates out of old wheelbarrows, spades, oil drums and car parts. This site is a must!

"5 Benevolent Cans" , Plasma cut oil cans by Cal Lane

Photomontage by Tim HawkinsonTim Hawkinson switches from one medium to another with relative ease. He imagined a teddy bear made out of boulders. He then sourced 8 granite boulders and constructed this 180 ton teddy bear. Read the article here.